The 2018 Cost of Culture report has found that Budapest is the cheapest of 18 cities surveyed in terms of ticket prices for cultural attractions, such as art galleries, heritage sites and concert tickets.
Prices for such attractions have fallen by 46% in the past year in the Hungarian capital, according to the report, in which prices for a basket of six attractions was surveyed for each city. Also flying the flag for eastern European destinations, Warsaw and Prague scored well for affordable culture in the survey commissioned by Post Office Travel Money. Other prime city break spots where cultural costs have fallen include Barcelona with a 29% price drop and Brussels with prices falling by 22%.
Six Budapest cultural attractions - the Hungarian National Museum, National Gallery, Matthias Church, opera tickets, ballet tickets and a classical concert - were analysed to give the city the top spot for cultural affordability. The six attractions came to a total cost of ?59.70, mainly due to a big drop in the cost of classical concert tickets from ?70 last year to ?13.30 this autumn. Warsaw's six attractions were down in price by 1.7% to ?92.36 and while Prague's costs have increased by 6%, the six attractions surveyed still came to a relatively affordable ?99.20.
Prices in Barcelona (?223.27), were more than ?100 lower than in Madrid and 29% down on last autumn. Others were Brussels (?164.66, down 22.3%); Amsterdam (?237.45, down 7.3%); London (?266.80, down 5.5%); Stockholm (?158.18, down 5.2%) and Paris (?281.34, down 2.1%). Dublin represented good value with its basket of six attractions coming in at less than half the cost of a similar group of attractions in Paris, Milan, Vienna or Madrid. But New York remains the most expensive overall at more than a third pricier than London.
Andrew Brown, spokesperson for Post Office Travel Money, said: ?While every city we surveyed boasts world-class cultural attractions, the prices fluctuate from year to year. It is worth doing your homework and checking what performances are scheduled for the dates of your visit before booking a city break as the cost can vary dramatically depending on the venue, orchestra and ballet or opera company. Culture vultures can also save a lot of money if they know the ropes. Afternoon ballet and opera performances often cost less than evening ones and galleries across Europe are free on specific days of the month or cheaper if visited late in the day.?
